Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, bishop and doctor of the Church
As we continue with this 18th week of Ordinary Time, we hear more about Moses’ journey with the Hebrew people following their escape from Egypt. When we consider this first reading from the book of Numbers, we might say to ourselves, “These people are certainly big complainers! God rescues them from slavery, and all they can do is complain about the food!” The list almost seems comical: cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. One can picture the Hebrew people daydreaming about food, wishing they could head back to slavery and maltreatment so that at least they could eat well. It’s no wonder that Moses became so upset with these people!
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Every time this gospel of the multiplication of loaves and fish is read at the Eucharist, I struggle to preach a homily. Let me tell you the reason. By now, most of you are aware of the drought and the resulting famine in East Somalia. This part of Africa is also affected by sectarian violence. I want to read for you an excerpt from BBC online news. "It's a matter of life and death," says Weheleey Osman Haji, a day after giving birth near the Kenyan border town of Liboi. She and her five other children arrived in Kenya after trekking for several weeks from their homeland in Somalia, whose ongoing conflict has left the country least able to cope with the worst drought in 60 years. The 33 year old has named her new baby Iisha, which loosely translates as "life". Deep asleep in his mother's arms during the BBC interview, he was unaware of the circumstances under which he came into this world. The one day old was born under an acacia tree 50 miles north of Kenya's Dadaab refugee camp. "There was drought; We have been walking for 22 days drinking only water," Mrs Haji says. "Since I delivered, I haven't eaten a thing. I now need food, life, water and shelter - everything that a human being needs."
Saturday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time
Sometimes we are tempted to think that the gospel injunction to serve the poor is merely an individual mandate—that as long as we give some of our money, as long as we make a casserole for the homeless once in a while, as long as we give a beggar some money here and there, we have lived out our obligation to the poor. All of these things are very good things, indeed holy things, that are part of the Christian life. In fact, they compose a standard that sometimes I would be pleased if I myself met!
Memorial of Saint Martha
I'm always somewhat amazed to remember that Martha is a saint; she doesn't get much sympathy in Christian history. She's depicted as the busybody who didn't make time for Jesus but felt the need to make her house perfect instead. In this, she's actually someone I identify with - as a busy mom and professor, there are always things that need doing and people that need caring for. Sometimes the best I do with making time for Jesus is writing these reflections, along with saying a quick little night prayer.
Thursday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s first reading continues the story of the exodus, under the leadership of Moses. Having received the Ten Commandments, Moses is instructed to build a “Dwelling” for the commandments, which he had placed in an ark. But of course, we notice that it is not merely stone tablets in this Dwelling; rather, the LORD actually dwells in the ark. The LORD accompanies the Israelites on their journey, and the people know that God is with them as they travel.
Wednesday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time
Recently, we had a conversation at work amongst our staff that about change. What struck me was that most of us felt people could change, while others thought generally people can not change. What I found so profound about this conversation is that we all work for an organization whose main mission is conversion.
Memorial of Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The gospel reading for today is a parable about the weeds in the field of wheat. I have always struggled with this scripture passage. I have wondered it is that God doesn’t just make it so that we do not sin. Why doesn’t God remove evil from occurring in the world before it happens or even prevent bad things from happening in the first place?
Feast of Saint James, apostle
Today we celebrate the Feast of St. James the Apostle. Of course, two of Jesus’ twelve apostles were named James. This is James, the son of Zebedee, and the brother of the apostle John. Little is known about this great apostle and saint, but our gospel passage today presents one story that features him.
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Rachel Mahle, a young pharmacy student shared this personal testimony with me last year. She writes, “At every mass I try to focus on one thing that God is really trying to speak to me during the scripture readings and the homily. I call it my “one thing” and I try to allow God to remind me of my “one thing” during the week. At mass last Sunday, I felt like God’s “one thing” for me to learn is that opening my heart to receive “the Kingdom of God” is a choice. As Fr. Satish said in his homily, I can choose to let justice, love and mercy reign in my heart or not. I decided that my task would be to be open to the Kingdom at the pharmacy. And then it happened. I came across a serious problem that a customer was having. The man needed a medication that cost $3,000. He needed it soon so that his transplanted kidney would not reject his body. The problem was that his insurance plan wouldn’t let a retail pharmacy fill his prescription. My other colleagues had given up because it was a situation beyond their control. As I became aware of the situation, I didn’t know if I could help him at all but I felt so strongly that God was posing the question, “Will you show mercy? Will you receive the Kingdom today?” I resolved that I would try my best to help this man. After many, many phone calls I was able to set the man up with a mail-order-pharmacy that could help him, help his nurses realize the situation, and finally was able to transfer his prescription to a pharmacy that would emergency-deliver it to his home in time. What was so special about this experience for me was that I felt God was giving me a direct invitation to follow or not to follow the things that had been placed in my heart at mass. And I didn’t feel alone in doing what God was asking of me. Not only did God call me to be open to the Kingdom but God was also with me every step of the way. The feeling that I can have an impact on God’s kingdom was exhilarating. Even better, I felt like I was on God’s team. As more people needed help, I just felt “hungry” to serve someone, because I experienced such a reward in surprising people with kindness.”
Saturday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
In today’s first reading from the book of Jeremiah, we are given a message from God delivered by Jeremiah to God’s people. The words are striking in their call to the Jewish people to make their worship congruent with their actions. In order to fully understand this message, we need to know a bit about the temple.
Memorial of Saint Mary Magdalene
I think conversion happens over a lifetime - each day we are converting ourselves to the will and steadfast love of God. But there are watershed moments, too, times when things change pretty dramatically. One of those watershed moments for me was the very first time I ever made a retreat. A friend invited me to go because she knew I'd been pretty heavily thinking about atheism. So off I went to a Carmelite monastery in the middle of the desert. I stayed two weeks by myself in a small hermitage with no running water or electricity, surrounded by wild animals and tall mountains. All of this served to heighten the fact that I was alone, and scared to be alone. All of that vast space and dangerous wildness made it a great place to face that fear inside me - that God didn't really exist and that all was emptiness. In the midst of these vast mountains and wildness, I saw how utterly unlike us God is. My near-atheist view of who I thought God was, was merely a large picture of humans. But over those two weeks, I came to see that that view does not begin to measure up to who God is. Two weeks is just about enough time to make peace with being alone - and to recognize that truly we are never alone.
Thursday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
These days, the term “fear of God” has become lost to us. You may have heard the commonplace assertion that the “God” of the Old Testament is angry and scary, in contrast with the “God” of the New Testament who is loving and kind. Today we have two readings, one from the Old Testament’s book of Exodus, and one from the New Testament’s gospel of Matthew. Our Catholic tradition believes that these are not competing images of God, but complementary pictures of the same Trinitarian God.
Wednesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Today was an unhappy day. I woke up, started on emails for work. Then the lawnmower would not start, so had to wrestle with that. When I got back inside, I realized that all the emails I had sent had bounced back. I tried to send them again and again but they all bounced back. Later I tried to run an errand for work, only to have a tire blowout. I skipped the errand and went home defeated thinking this is a Murphy’s Law kind of day. Murphy’s Law being that anything that can go wrong will. With this litany of complaints on the front of my brain, I sat down to work on the reflection for today.
Tuesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Families are a big focus of our culture today. Most people grow up in a family. Many people desire to get married and raise a family. And strong families are thought by some to be the backbone of a stable society—teaching us social and ethical values and training us to be good citizens. I find myself valuing my own family for the way that it had formed me and for the ties of love and mutual concern that continue to exist and shape my life.
Monday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s first reading from the book of Exodus contains one of the most storied passages of the Bible, namely, Moses’ parting of the Red Sea, allowing the Hebrew people to escape unscathed from the pursuit of Pharaoh’s Egyptian army. The drama of this scene transfers well into movies precisely because it is dramatic. God’s glory is shown in this marvelous deed, when he proves to his people that he loves them and will save them even when it seems impossible. God also demonstrates to the Egyptians that he is the one true God. It is a moment of triumph that brings Moses’ sister Miriam to break out in song – the song that serves as today’s responsorial psalm.
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
One of the most decisive events in the history of the world was the gradual emergence of the nation-state. What I mean by that is that the political system existing in the world today based on geographical territories is a rather modern phenomenon. Before nation states existed there were multi-ethnic empires ruled by an emperor or a king. On the other hand, what defines a nation-sate is not ethnic majority or religious affiliation but rather a definite geographical boundary. In a nation-state like the United States, the State becomes an instrument of national unity, in economic, social and cultural life. It is based on a Constitution that determines rights and obligations, discipline and punishment. Peace is often enforced by armed civil authorities. There are seldom second chances offered to those who fail. One of the main characteristic of the nation-state is nationalistic patriotism which almost assumes the level of religion. Thus, heroism is associated with the ultimate sacrifice – death – to defend the boundaries of the nation. Armies are fashioned to defend each nation. The world spends close to three trillion dollar all together to defend itself from each other. Take for example the war in Iraq. It only makes sense when one sees the war as a defense of the nation. More than four thousand people have died in the defense of this nation. But the price is considered necessary for the continuous defense of a nation. Those who give up their lives are honored as heroes. That is the nation-state.
Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
We often hear Christ described as the Passover lamb, the Eucharist as the Paschal (i.e., relating to “Passover”) Feast, and the Easter Triduum as a celebration of the Paschal Mystery. These designations have their roots in Scripture. It is at the Last Supper, presumably a celebration of the Passover meal, where Jesus cements the association between the Jewish feast of Passover and his impending suffering, death, and eventual resurrection. His Body and Blood are given up for all. His life is laid down for our salvation. Why should Jesus connect his saving mission with Passover? There are many Jewish feasts. Why this association? What does it mean for us?
Memorial of Saint Bonaventure, bishop and doctor of the Church
It is interesting to have today's texts side by side. The first (Exodus 11:10-12:14) is the story of how the great feast of Passover came to be. It is one of the most important feasts of the year because it commemorates that God saves and protects the Israelites by leading them out of Egypt. God makes observing the feast a kind of law: "This day shall be a memorial feast for you, which all your generations shall celebrate with pilgrimage to the Lord, as a perpetual institution."
Memorial of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, virgin
Today’s psalm response, “The Lord remembers his covenant forever” (Ps. 105:8a) guides us in thinking about today’s first reading from the Book of Exodus. Here we have the continuation of one of the most well-known passages in all of our beloved Old Testament: God speaking to Moses from the burning bush. If you have been following the daily Mass readings for the last few weeks, then you know that we have been hearing the narratives of the great figures – Abraham and Sarah, Isaac, Joseph, Jacob and now Moses, who has lately taken the lead role in these passages.
Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week
Recently, a neighbor came home after being gone a week. It was neat to witness his children run to lovingly greet their father. The hugs were heartfelt even at a distance. His children’s hugs without using words state, I love you, I missed you and now we are one again. For the parent, the genuine embrace of their child transforms the moment into one that feels like an encounter with the transcendent.